Air-compression starter



W. C. GARWOOD AND C. P. WEBER.

AIR COMPRESSION STARTER.

APPLICATION FiLED mm. 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- .1,405,91 3. Patented Feb. 7, 1922.

W. C. GARWOOD AND C. P. WEBER.

AI-R COMPRESSIbN STARTER.

APPLICATION FIL'ED JAN.2, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

58 inder i is held'in place by a brace 5 UNITED STATES PA-TENT- OFFICE.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Application ma January 2, 1926. Serial no. 349,104.

To all whom, it may concern:-

Be itknown that we, WILLIAM G. GARwooo and CARL P. WEBER, citizens ofthe United States of. America, residing at Dayton,.in-

the com? of Montgomery, State of Ohio, and at ashington, District ofColumbia, respectively, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Air-Compres-Q sion Starters, of which the vfollowing is aspecification.

Our invention relates to a starting device for internal combustionengines in aircraft.

The object of our invention is chiefly to enable the en ineer or pilotof said aircraft to restore actlonto the engine after it has beenaccidentally stalled while said-aircraft is in flight, i. e., above theground, thereby preventing the necessity of landing in order to preparefor continuing flight.

Another object of our invention is to provide means whereby the enginemay .be started without the use of a second or auxiliary engine. 1

Another object of our invention is to pro-' vide means for repeatedaction on the en inc in the event of the spark not taking e ect upon theexplosive means thefirst time.

Another object is to provide means for setting the device so that it maybe operated instantly after the engine is stalled.

A further object is .to pro vide means whereb the set or release of thedevice may bel rea upon the instrument board by'the pi ot. V

Further objects and advantages will ap pear as the description proceeds.

Referring now to the drawings Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of thestarter and associated parts.

sentsthe propeller shaft of the e e, and

2 a cam which fits loosely as a co 1' upon the shaft 1. The cam 2 issurmounted by a piston- 3 containin ball 3' which operates vertically. ma cylinder The 1- containing ball bearing 5. where it is sup- PatentcdFeb. '7, 1922. I

ported by the shaft 1. .Supports connected Y to the one shownat 5, whichfunction horizontally, and are fastened to the sides of the ship, arenot indicated in the drawing, (all to aid in thesimplicity ofresentation). A large gear wheel6 is placed upon the ,shaft 1 on oneside of the cam 2, and operates upon the threaded section 7 by means ofthe cornding threads 7 f ,while on the-opposite of the cam 2 acup-shaped collar 8 carres to the large'gear wheel '6 is'a trainofsmaller gear wheels v10 carried on shafts 10' Whichv are supported attheir "ends-by the brace -5. A long shaft 11 connected atone end toitheriesaspring 9 in its recess. Connected now last of the smaller gearwheels 10 andialso I supported by the brace. 5 extends tof' theinstrument board of the-craft, and termi- 7 nates in the form of a crankhandle "12;

Toothed sections 13 and 13', which' 'arq placed on opposite sides of thecam '2, operate 1n conjunction with corresponding teeth in the largergear wheel 6 on the one/side and the cup-shaped collar 8 ontheiothen-'Havmg described the appearance of Fig, 1, we will proceed with theoperation.

- Turning the handle 12 which is-in convenient reach of the operator(pilot) will rotate the shaft 11 and co uentlyoperate the train of gearsindicated y 10 and 10'.

These terminating in the larger gear wheel 6, force it to travel on thescrew threads 7 and 7 until it reaches the cam 2, whereupon the teeth 13of the cam 2 mesh with those of the larger gear wheel 6 and thus rotatethe said cam in unison. As the cam 2 rotates upon the shaft 1 theeccentric nature of its construction carries the iston 3 upward in avertical direction. T is compresses the chin the cylinder 4 and when thecam 2 has passed the maximum position of compression upon the piston 3,the accumulated enorgy in the compressed air contained in cyl- "inder 4,forces the cam 2 the rest of the way on the oppositeside of its minimumposition with a rapid aetion. Before the cam 2 reaches the positionwhere this said rapid acteeth 13' of the said mesh with those of no in:traveling on the screw threads 7, also forces the collar 8 and prepareto carry the shaft 1 in unison with the rest of the moving apparatus.When this point of action has been reached, the cam 2 is then ready foraccumulated energy of the compressed air, and the shaft 1 turned rapidlyupon its axis produces the desired effect upon the gas engineof thecraft necessary for starting. The use of the spring 9 will be describedin conjunction with Fig. 3.

Fig. 2 being a projection of Fig. 1 showsthe elliptical shape of the cam2, and as the action has been mentioned in the foregoing 'figure nothingmore needs to be described except to state that the brace 5 has beenremoved in order to show the cam 2 to better advantage.

In F'g. 3 we have shown as before the propeller shaft 1 and the cam 2 ofFigs. 1 and 2, and the collar 8 containing the spring 9 of Fig. 1. Inaddition, and forming the principal feature of this figure, is a toothedbar 14 which operates, upon a toothed wheel segment 14, said toothedwheel segment 14 being fastened to a second cam 15, the nose of whichrests upon the cam 2. The toothed bar 14 is fastened to a bell-cranklever 16 which infturn is fastened to a connecting rod 17, the said rod17 being fastened to a second bell-crank lever 18 having a handle 19 formanual operating purposes.

Now referring to the action :-In the position illustrated the cam 15 isholding the cam 2, which may slide upon the shaft 1, away from thecollar 8. Now when it is desired to put the starter into action thehandle 19 is turned to the left, the section 18 coming toward theoperator. This pulls the connecting rod 17 forward and in turn operatesthe lever 16. This now draws the toothed bar 14 toward the right,carrying with it the toothed wheel segment 14' which forces the nose ofthe cam 15 to the left and away from the cam 2. The cam 2 is now free totravel toward the collar 8 as described in Fig. 1..

After the engine of the aircraft has been Started, the spring 9 in therecess of the collar 8, which has been previously contracted by contactwith the cam 2, expands and. throws the cam 2 away from the collar 8,thereby relieving all action upon the shaft and allowing the engine tooperate with complete freedom. I i

In Figs. 4 and 5, which are projections of each other, we have shownagain the shaft 1 and the cam 2 of Fig. 1, 'and in conjunction withthese we have also shown a small wheel 20 placed upon a shaft 21 andresting against the .cam 2. The shaft 21 is fastened to a bell-cranklever 22 which is in turn fastened. to one end of a connecting rod 23,the other end being coupled with a second bell-crank lever 24. At thispoint a second connecting rod 25 joins the second bell-crank lever 24with an indicator 26 of a dial 27,

which dial 27 is placed upon the instrument board of the aircraft. Oneor more notches 2 are filed into the working face of the cam 2 for apurpose hereinafter explained. 'A' spring placed upon the fulcrum of thelever 22 holds the wheel 20 in place against the cam 2, but is not shownin the drawing.

The operation of this portion of our invention is as follows:

As the cam 2 in Fig. 4 turns from the position indicated by the-solidline to that shown by the dotted line, the wheel '20 recedes, forcingthe shaft 21 to turn the lever 22 counter clockwise. This action pullsthe connecting rod 23 and carries the second lever 24 in' synchronismwith that of lever 22, and in turn pulls the second connecting rod 25 tothe left. This moves the indicator 26 upon the dial 27 which is upon theinstrument board of the craft, as previously stated, and shows that thecam 2 is in action. The letters S and R upon the dial representindications of the cam, being set for action, or in a state of rest.Referring to the notch 2 on the surface of the cam 2; when the said camis ready for action (set) the lower end of the piston 3 of Fig. 1 havinga corresponding tongue, not indicated in the drawing, will settle intothe notch 2 and hold the cam 2 from slipping back before it is broughtinto final action.

lVhat is claimed is:

j 1. The combination with a propeller shaft, of an eccentric normallyloose thereon, a compression chamber, a reciprocatory actuating pistonin said chamber, speed reducing gear for imparting a rotative movementto said eccentric to move the piston to compressing position, and clutchmeans to automatically connect and disconnect the eccen-v tric with saidshaft.

2. The combination with a propeller shaft, of an eccentric normallyloose thereon, energy storing and delivering-means in cooperativerelation to said eccentric, speed reducing gear for imparting a rotativemovement to said eccentric, and clutch means to automatically connectand disconnect said eccentric with said shaft.

3. The combination with a propeller shaft, of an eccentric normallyloose thereon, energy storing and delivering means in cooperativerelation to said eccentric, speed reducing gear for imparting a rotativemovement to said eccentric, and clutch means having a threadedconnection with said shaft to autotric with said shaft.

4. The combination with a propeller shaft,

of an eccentric normally loose thereon, energy storing and deliveringmeans in cooperative relation to said eccentric, speed reducing gear forimparting a rotative movement to said eccentric, and clutch means toautomatically connect and disconnect said eccentric with said shaft, adistantly located indicator, and connecting means between said eccentricand indicator to visualize the position assumed by the eccentric.

5. The combination with a propeller shaft, of an eccentric normallyloose thereon, energy storing and delivering means in cooperativerelation to said eccentric, speed reducing gear for imparting a rotativemovement to 10 said eccentric, and clutch means to automatically connectand disconnect said eccentric with said shaft, a distantly locatedindicator, and connecting means actuated by the eccentric andcontrolling the action of said indicator.

In testimony whereof, we aflix our signatures.

WILLIAM GARWOOD. CARL P. WEBER.

